AT&T Giving $5 Credit to Customers Following Major Network Outage

AT&T has announced that it will be providing impacted customers with a $5 bill credit per account as compensation for the network's major outage across the U.S. on Thursday. The credits will automatically be applied within two bill cycles, it said.

ATT Banner
AT&T said the bill credit offer does not apply to AT&T Business, prepaid, or Cricket customers. A spokesperson for the carrier told CNET that those customers will "have options available to them if they were potentially impacted by the outage."

The carrier's full statement apologizing for the outage:

We apologize for Thursday's network outage. We recognize the frustration this outage has caused and know we let many of our customers down. We understand this may have impacted their ability to connect with family, friends, and others. Small business owners may have been impacted, potentially disrupting an essential way they connect with customers.

To help make it right, we're reaching out to potentially impacted customers and we're automatically applying a credit to their accounts. We want to reassure our customers of our commitment to reliably connect them – anytime and anywhere. We're crediting them for the average cost of a full day of service.

We're also taking steps to prevent this from happening again in the future. Our priority is to continuously improve and be sure our customers stay connected.

AT&T also shared the letter that its CEO John Stankey sent to the company's employees. In it, he said the company "let down" many of its customers and has "already implemented changes to prevent what happened on Thursday."

'Incorrect Process'

Based on its initial review, AT&T said it believed that the outage was caused by the "application and execution of an incorrect process used as we were expanding our network," not a cyber attack. The U.S. government on Thursday said the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security were looking into the outage.

The outage began in the early hours of Thursday morning, with tens of thousands of customers complaining that they were unable to make cellular phone calls, send or receive text messages, or use cellular data. AT&T said about three-quarters of its customers were able to access its network by around 6 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, and it said that it had fully restored its network by around 1 p.m. Eastern Time that day.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Here's Which Vehicles Offer iPhone Car Keys

Sunday July 6, 2025 3:03 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. Apple has a web page with a list of vehicle models that ...
imac video apple feature

Apple Launching These 15+ Products Later This Year

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The calendar has turned to July, meaning that 2025 is now more than half over. And while the summer months are often quiet for Apple, the company still has more than a dozen products coming later this year, according to rumors. Below, we have outlined at least 15 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. iPhone 17 Series iPho...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
iphone 17 pro render majin bu

New iPhone 17 Pro Renders Highlight Apple Logo and MagSafe Design Changes

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:43 pm PDT by
New renders today provide the best look yet relocated Apple logo and redesigned MagSafe magnet array of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Image via Majin Bu. Several of the design changes coming to the iPhone 17 Pro model have been rumored for some time, such as the elongated camera bump that spans the full width of the device, with the LiDAR Scanner and flash moving to the right side. ...
Prime Day 25 Feature Warm Triad

The Best Early Prime Day Deals on Apple Products

Saturday July 5, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Amazon is soon to be back with its annual summertime Prime Day event, lasting for four days from July 8-11, the longest Prime Day yet. As it does every year, Prime Day offers shoppers a huge selection of deals across Amazon's storefront, and there are already many deals you can get on sale ahead of the event. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a ...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...

Top Rated Comments

jeremz1ne Avatar
18 months ago
wow a 5 dollar credit what a joke
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
18 months ago
If you have 700 accounts, that buys you a Vision Pro.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ikramerica Avatar
18 months ago
The problem is that you don’t pay by the hour or day, so calculating $5 is “generous“ is false. You pay for the service to be there when you need it, and if it wasn’t there for you during this outage and you really needed it, the cost could be much higher to you than a prorated gift.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rainshadow Avatar
18 months ago

are we that wedded to our phones now that a short disruption that could easily be gotten around by gettin on wifi demands a pound of flesh? Just what do you think they should have done? 5 dollar credit seems fine to me.
That’s really not a fair characterization. People rely on these phones not just for instagram. Our emergency services here all run on our phones. Counties dispatch resources in many cases by cellphone, people report medical emergencies, locals are notified of hazards. A cellular service going down can literally cost lives. In a significant number of cases, it is the ONLY lifeline for folks.

I wasn’t affected. But to belittle people because they had a significant emergency, business operations, phone interviews, etc etc etc affected is self centered and ignorant in the literal term of the word ignorant - not the insulting way.

$5 is something, but realistically, either you weren’t affected at all… or your day was destroyed by the consequence. In one case, $5 is generous and unnecessary, on the other side, $5 is insulting and laughable.

And another thing, for 5 years ATT was my internet and phone provider before Starlink got on the scene. Many people around here still use that method. So, no. WiFi isn’t always available for folks.

I really get sickened when people assume all folks live exactly like they do and have blazing fast WiFi, perfect cell coverage or the ability to walk to a Starbucks.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarAnalogy Avatar
18 months ago
I'm a little surprised they actually admitted what happened. Maybe they had no choice as outside agencies were investigating.

Now apologize for the way you treat your customers when the service is working!
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kirk.vino Avatar
18 months ago
Wow, $5!
Last time I had an outage with Spectrum, they gave me a $2.5 discount lol
Gotta love these corporations. They barely pay anything to their regular employees, charge their customers an arm and a leg for mediocre services, but the c-level crowd there makes all the money in the world.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)